ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
US Secretary of Commerce, H.E. Ms Gina Raimondo to visit New Delhi between 7-10 March
During the visit, India - USA Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum to be held
US Secretary of Commerce HE Ms Gina Raimondo will be visiting New Delhi, India between 7-10 March on the invitation of Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles.
During the visit, India - USA Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum will be held on 10th March 2023 to discuss cooperation in various sectors that could unlock new trade and investment opportunities between the two countries.
The Commercial Dialogue is a cooperative undertaking encompassing regular government-to-government meetings to be held in conjunction with private sector meetings, with an aim to facilitate trade, and maximize investment opportunities across a broad range of economic sectors.
The last India-USA Commercial Dialogue was held in February 2019. Since then, due to pandemic and other factors it could not be held. It is proposed to re-launch the Commercial Dialogue with strategic outlook with focus on supply chain resiliency & diversification and new emerging areas, after a gap of three years.
Earlier, India-US CEO Forum was soft-launched by Indian Commerce & Industry Minister and US Secretary of Commerce on 9th November 2022 via video-conference for which identified key priorities were increasing supply chain resilience, enhancing energy security & reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, advancing inclusive digital trade; and facilitating post-pandemic economic recovery, especially for small businesses.
Trade, Commerce and Economy had always enjoyed a place of prominence in the India-US multifaceted strategic bilateral relations. Today, the two countries are leading trading partners of each other. India is the ninth largest trading partner for the US, while the US is India’s largest trading partner and the largest export destination. The bilateral trade in goods saw very robust growth during CY 2022, surpassing $131 billion in goods, thus doubling since 2014  while total trade in Goods and Services is expected to cross US$ 180 billion. US is also the third biggest source of FDI for India, and USA is one of the top five investment destinations for India. This visit will immensely contribute towards furthering trade and commercial ties between the two countries.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Lkinking of Aadhaar with Ration Cards
A few reports have of late appeared in the media citing non-linking of Aadhaar with Ration Cards as one of the reasons for the difficulties faced by the beneficiaries under NFSA in getting their entitled quota of foodgrains. In this regard, as per available records and received information from the State Governments, allegations made in the media reports of deaths due to starvation have not been substantiated.
Further, provisions of the Notification issued under the Section-7 of the Aadhaar Act 2016, vide SO No. 371[E] dated 08/02/2017 [as amended from time to time] by the Department, all eligible beneficiaries entitled to receive subsidized foodgrains, under the National Food Security Act 2013 [NFSA], who do not possess Aadhaar number or, are not yet enrolled for Aadhaar, but are desirous of availing the subsidized foodgrains, are required to make an application for Aadhaar enrolment by 30/09/2019, and also linking of Aadhaar with Ration Cards/Beneficiaries ensure correct identification of beneficiaries and their rightful delivery of subsidized foodgrains under NFSA.
This Department has issued instructions to all States/UTs vide letter dated 24/10/2017 that no beneficiary/household shall be deleted from the list of eligible beneficiaries/households only on the ground of not possessing an Aadhaar number, and shall also not be denied from subsidized foodgrains or cash transfer of food subsidy under NFSA due to failure of biometric/Aadhaar authentication because of network/ connectivity/ linking issues/ poor biometric of the beneficiary or other technical reasons. This Department has again issued instructions to all States/UTs vide letter dated 08/11/2018 that owing to failure of biometric/Aadhaar authentication, no genuine beneficiary shall be denied from foodgrains entitled under NFSA.
Streamlining and upgradation of Targeted Public Distribution System [TPDS] is a continuous process. Department of Food & Public Distribution is implementing a Scheme on ‘End-to-End Computerisation of TPDS Operations’ on cost sharing basis with the States/UTs. The Scheme consists of activities namely, digitization of ration cards/beneficiary and other databases, computerisation of supply-chain management, setting up of transparency portals and grievance redressal mechanisms and installation of ePoS devices at Fair Price Shops.
This information was given in a written reply by the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Danve Raosaheb Dadarao in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Ministry of I&B constitutes committee to review Guidelines on Television Rating Agencies in India
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has today constituted a committee to review “Guidelines on Television Rating Agencies in India” notified by the Ministry in 2014.
The present guidelines issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting  on Television Rating Agencies in India were notified after detailed deliberations by the Parliamentary Committee, Committee on Television Rating Points  constituted by the MIB and recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority etc.
It has been found, based on the operation of the guidelines for a few years, that there is need to have a fresh look on the guidelines particularly keeping in view the recent recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India , technological advancements / interventions to address the system and further strengthening of the procedures for a credible and transparent rating system.
A committee has been hereby constituted to study different aspects of the television rating system in India as they have evolved over a period of time. The Committee shall carry out an appraisal of the existing system; examine TRAI recommendations notified from time to time, overall industry scenario and addressing the needs of the stakeholders and make recommendations for robust, transparent and accountable rating system through changes, if any, in the existing guidelines.
The composition of the Committee shall be as under:-
i) Shri Shashi S. Vempati, CEO, Prasar Bharti …. Chairman
ii) Dr Shalabh, Professor of Statistics,
Department of Mathematics and Statistics,
IIT Kanpur ....Member
iii) Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay, Executive Director,
C-DOT ....Member
iv) Professor Pulak Ghosh, Decision Sciences
Centre for Public Policy  ....Member
The Terms of Reference for the Committee shall be as under:
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- Study past recommendations made by various forums on the subject of television rating systems in India and matter incidental thereto;
- Study recent recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority on the subject;
- Suggest steps for enhancing competition in the sector;
- Review of the presently notified guidelines to see if the intended purpose of issuing the guidelines have stood the test of time and has met needs of various stakeholders involve The lacunae, if any, shall be specially addressed by the Committee;
- Any issues related or incidental to the subject;
- To make recommendations on way forward for robust, transparent and accountable rating system in India; and
- Any other related issues assigned by MIB from time to time.
The Committee can invite any expert as a special invitee. The Committee will submit its report to the Minister for Information & Broadcasting within two months.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Cheetah Awareness Programme being organized by National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Natural History, New Delhi a subordinate office of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is an institution dedicated to create Environmental Awareness among masses with special focus on children.
NMNH, New Delhi along with its regional museums at Mysore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Sawai Madhopur is organizing a Cheetah Awareness Programme. This is a special month-long campaign which started from 02.10.2022 which is also the start day of Wild life Week and will continue till 31.10.2022.
Every day thousands of children in schools, colleges and visitors visiting Natural History Museum’s and National Parks are being sensitized towards Wild Life Protection. Before this a weeklong awareness campaign “Reintroduction of Cheetah”  has been successfully conducted in which more than 1.5 Lakh students from more than 500 schools across India participated.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Union Minister Dr.Jitendra Singh says, aim of Mission Karmayogi is to ensure “Ease of Living” for common man
Mission to create a new future ready Civil Service for a New India: DrJitendra Singh
Mission Karmayogiwill be the largest Civil Services Reform in the World.
This is a Comprehensive reform of the capacity building apparatus at individual,
institutional and process levels for efficient public service delivery: Dr Jitendra Singh
Union Minister of State , Development of North Eastern Region , MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said,passage of Mission Karmayogi-a National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building by the Union Cabinetwill go a long way in creating a new future ready civil service for a New India. Briefing the media, he said that it is an endeavor to incarnate civil services into a real Karmayogi who is Creative, Constructive, Pro-active and Technically Empowered to face the future challenges. He said this is also aimed at ending the culture of working in silos and to overcome the multiplicity of training modules.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said that revolutionary Governance Reforms were brought in during the last six years under the leadership of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He said, after the historic passage of National Recruitment Agency on 19thAugust, 2020, the Mission Karmayogi will prove to be the largest Civil Services Reform in the world in terms of depth and spread. He added that mid-career training will be available to all services at all levels in all languagesand underlined thatthis will help in professional delivery of services at all levels of Government of India.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said, from Rule Specific to Role Specific, Institutionalized Capacity Building Training, Continuous updation of skills, ending the culture of working in silos are some of the key features of this reform process.
The Union Minister said that the ultimate aim of Mission Karmayogi is to ensure “Ease of Living” for common man, “Ease of Doing Business” and Citizen-Centricity that is reducing the gap between the government and the citizens. The Minister informed that appointing authorities will have readymade data available for choosing the right candidate for the right job. Moreover, real time evaluation will go a long way in ensuring Accountability and Transparency in Governance, he added.
Click here to see the detailed note on Mission Karmayogi in English
Click here to see the detailed note on Mission Karmayogi in Hindi
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SNC
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Special Service and Features
NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DAY – 2022 CELEBRATED AT  DRDO
National Technology Day was celebrated at Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment  DRDO, Ministry of Defence, Avadi on 11 May 2022. The theme for the year 2022 is “Integrated approach in Science & Technology for Sustainable Future”.
The event started with Tamizh Thai Vazhthu followed by DRDO song., The National Technology day oration has been delivered by Senior Scientist Shri G.Venkatesan, on the topic “Hybrid Propulsion System for Military Tracked Vehicle”. Detailed comparative study was carried out between conventional & hybrid power pack for the present and future Armoured fighting vehicles. This hybrid power pack will be tested and trial evaluated at Various Indian Terrain conditions. He was awarded with DRDO Commendation Certificate by Director, CVRDE.
Shri V Balamurugan, Outstanding Scientist and Director, CVRDE delivered the special Address on the eve of Technology Day. He recalled the necessity of Integrated approach in Science & Technology for sustainable future in development of the systems for the armed forces and emphasized the importance of enhancing the self-reliance in Defence base of R&D systems.
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Ministry of External Affairs
Cabinet approves MoU between India and the UAE on Development cooperation in Africa
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Memorandum of Understanding  between India and the United Arab Emirates on Development Cooperation in Africa. The MoU entails setting up of a framework of cooperation between the two countries for implementing development partnership projects and programmes in Africa.
Benefits:
The proposal will help strengthen political and economic linkages between India and the countries of Africa and serve our broader strategic interests.
AKT/SNC/SH
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Ministry of Finance
Restrictions on Public Procurement from certain countries
The Government of India today amended the General Financial Rules 2017 to enable imposition of restrictions on bidders from countries which share a land border with Indiaon grounds of defence of India, or matters directly or indirectly related thereto including national security.The Department of Expenditure has, under the said Rules, issued a detailed Order on public procurement to strengthen the defence of India and national security.
As per the Order any bidder from such countries sharing a land border with India will be eligible to bid in any procurement whether of goods, services  or works  only if the bidder is registered with the Competent Authority.The Competent Authority for registration will be the Registration Committee constituted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade . Political and security clearance from the Ministries of External and Home Affairs respectively will be mandatory.
The Order takes into its ambit public sector banks and financial institutions, Autonomous Bodies, Central Public Sector Enterprises and Public Private Partnership projects receiving financial support from the Government or its undertakings.
State Governments too play a vital role in national security and defence of India. The Government of India has written to the Chief Secretaries of the State Governments invoking the provisions of Article 257 of the Constitution of India for the implementation of this Order in procurement by State Governments and state undertakings etc. For State Government procurement, the Competent Authority will be constituted by the states but political and security clearance will remain necessary.
Relaxation has been provided in certain limited cases, including for procurement of medical supplies for containment of COVID-19 global pandemic till 31st December 2020. By a separate Order, countries to which Government of India extends lines of credit or provides development assistance have been exempted from the requirement of prior registration.
The new provisions will apply to all new tenders. In respect of tenders already invited, if the first stage of evaluation of qualifications has not been completed, bidders who are not registered under the new Order will be treated as not qualified. If this stage has been crossed, ordinarily the tenders will be cancelled and the process started de novo. The Order will also apply to other forms of public procurement. It does not apply to procurement by the private sector.
The relevant orders can be accessed here .
Annexure 1
Annexure 2
Special Service and Features
IIT Madras plans to introduce two-year MA programmes in the streams of Development Studies, English Studies, and Economics, which will be offered from 2023-24 academic year
Indian Institute of Technology Madras  is introducing new M.A. programmes, offered by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences with the objective of increasing the intake and the pool of candidates who can apply for these programmes.
The Institute is expanding the scope of the MA programme by adding Economics to the already existing streams of Development Studies and English Studies and offering all the three streams as two-year programmes instead of the current five-year integrated MA programmes. These programmes will be offered from the 2023 academic session.
There will be 25 seats for Indian students under each stream. These programmes will also be made open to international students on a supernumerary basis. The application process will commence in March/April 2023 and classes will start in July 2023. Instead of HSEE, admission to the two-year M.A. programmes will be made on the basis of a soon-to-be-announced entrance examination.
IIT Madras is hopeful of attracting a more diverse set of candidates by making the MA programmes available after graduation from varied streams.
Highlighting the major impact of this new initiative, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “The restructuring of the MA programme is done with an aim to make the same accessible to more students who have completed their bachelor degrees from multiple disciplines spreading across humanities, science, commerce, engineering etc. Such type of a humanities and social science exposure is very much needed for the next generations of students to face and address different challenges posed by the modern world. This expanded list of MA programs will open-up new avenues of placement and employability as the students will be trained as domain specific experts with international readiness and national focus.”
The unique aspects of the new programmes include evidence-based policy analyses, role of technology in shaping socio-economic development, data science and governance, engagement with contemporary issues such as climate change, sustainability, urbanization among others.
The course curriculum of the M.A. programmes will be restructured to include more contemporary subjects such as Economics of Innovation, Urban Planning and Development, Health Policy, Environmental Humanities, Climate Economics, Technology and Policy, and Computational Linguistics, among others.
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Ministry of Power
Ministry of Power celebrates “Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047” as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav
Event will feature Achievements and Vision of India for 2047 in Power and RE Sector
Ministry of Power and New & Renewable Energy, Government of India is celebrating “Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047” initiative of the Government of India under “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”  from 25th to 30th July 2022 across the Nation in association with all Power CPSEs and State DISCOMs.
The event will showcase the achievements in Power and Renewable Energy Sectors to the public, both from National and State perspectives, and also the vision of India in these sectors for 2047 when India completes 100 years of Independence. In South Delhi District, this event is being organized by District Administration on 28th and 29th July 2022. The Power System Operation Corporation  Limited is coordinating the events in South Delhi as a coordinating CPSE.
Sh. Ramesh Bidhuri, Hon’ble Member of Parliament shall be the Chief Guest for the event to be held on 28th July at Sarvodaya Co-Ed Senior Secondary School, Mehrauli, New Delhi. On 29th July, the event shall be held at Govt. Girls Senior Secondary School, Pushp Vihar, New Delhi, where Dr. Monica Priyadarshini, DM South Delhi shall be the Chief Guest.
Prime Minister's Office
PM releases new series of visually impaired friendly coins
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today, released the new series of visually impaired friendly circulation coins,in New Delhi.Rs.1, Rs.2, Rs.5, Rs.10 and Rs.20 are the various denominations of coins released as part of the new series.
The coins were released at a function at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, where visually impaired children were specially invited. The Prime Minister expressed happiness in hosting them and thanked them for giving him an opportunity to interact with them.
Releasing the new series, Prime Minister said that the Union Government is guided by the vision of reaching the last mile and the last person. He said the new series of coins have been designed and released keeping that vision in mind.
The Prime Minister said that the new circulation coins with various differentiating features, will greatly aid the visually impaired. The new series of coins will facilitate the visually impaired, and will instil them with confidence, PM said.
The Prime Minister mentioned about the various initiatives taken by the Union Government for the welfare of the Divyang community. He said that there is a sensitivity with the Union Government to make every initiative Divyang friendly.
The Prime Minister thanked the National Institute of Design for the design, Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited and the Ministry of Finance for the introduction of new coins.
During the interaction with the Prime Minister, the children thanked the Prime Minister for introducing the new series of coins. They added that these coins will greatly ease their daily routine.
Various new features have been incorporated in the new series of circulation coins to make it more easy for the visually impaired to use them.
The coins are characterized by the increasing size and weight from lower to higher denominations. The newly included coin of Rs.20, will be a 12 sided coin with no serrations. The rest of the denominations would be of round shape.
Union Minister for Finance, Shri Arun Jaitley and Minister of State for Finance, Shri Pon Radhakrishnan were also present at the event.
Ministry of Defence
LIEUTENANT GENERAL MV SUCHINDRA KUMAR TAKES OVER AS VICE CHIEF OF THE ARMY STAFF
Lieutenant General MV Suchindra Kumar has assumed the appointment of the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on 01 March 2023. The General officer has taken over the appointment from Lieutenant General BS Raju who has taken over the reins of Jaipur based Sapta Shakti Command today.
Prior to taking over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Lieutenant General MV Suchindra Kumar was tenanting the appointment of Deputy Chief of Army Staff  at Army HQ. He has experience in intelligence, operations, force structuring, operational logistics and tech infusion in his recent appointments.
An alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and National Defence Academy, the General Officer was commissioned into 1 ASSAM REGIMENT in June 1985. He has commanded 59 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion , an Infantry Brigade and an Infantry Division on the Line of Control and the highly active White Knight Corps in Northern Command.
The General Officer has held various staff and instructional appointments to include an instructional tenure at Infantry School, Mhow, Senior Operations Officer in the United Nations Sector in Cambodia, Colonel  in Military Secretary Branch, Indian Army Training Team at Lesotho, Brigadier General Staff  of a Corps in the Eastern Theatre, Additional Director General Military Intelligence and Director General Military Intelligence at Army HQ.
The Officer has attended the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Higher Command Course, Mhow and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He has also attended courses on ‘Cooperative Security in South Asia’ in Sri Lanka and ‘United Nations Senior Mission Leaders Course’ in Egypt. His military papers have been published in a number of professional journals.